Week 7 Reading: Japanese Mythology, Part A

Two of the stories in Part A particularly interested me.

The first of which, "The Eight-Forked Serpent of Koshi" is about Susa-no-wo encountering an elderly couple in the forest, who grieve over their youngest daughter of eight, who is the last of their children, for the others had been consumed by a serpentine monster. Enticed by the daughter's beauty, Susa-no-wo agrees to slay the serpent in exchange for her hand in marriage. He drunkens the serpent and then cuts it into a thousand pieces. In the tail of the serpent he finds a powerful sword, which he hands off to the rulers of Heaven, and then he marries the daughter.

The other story that interested me was "The Heaven-Descended". In particular though, I found the part about Uzume and the giant interesting. You have this gorgeous goddess of mirth who fearlessly addresses a fearsome giant after being sent to greet him by Ninigi. And that amuses the giant, who gives a message for her to pass along to Ninigi, that the giant would be his guide. And once Ninigi descended to Earth, the giant did indeed serve as his guide, eventually building him a great palace. And for the giant's faithful servitude, Ninigi granted the giant Uzume as a bride, and the two lived together happily. I feel there might be room in there to add onto the story, or explore their life together a bit more, since I like the way the two are characterized.

Sources:

Story Source: "The Eight-Forked Serpent of Koshi" by E. W. Champney and F. Champney

Story Source: "The Heaven-Descended" (Part 1) (Part 2) by E. W. Champney and F. Champney

Image Source: Artwork of Uzume